Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 149209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Then again, unless she convinced him of her sincerity, there might not be a tomorrow for the two of them.
He kissed back. Oh, did he ever. And he tasted so good. Like brandy and a hint of cinnamon. Hot. And a few moments later, hungry, insistent as his mouth devoured hers. He threw his arms around her, banded them tight around her middle, as if telling her without words that she wasn’t going anywhere again. She melted, might as well have become a puddle at his feet.
Long minutes and a pair of damp panties later, she broke away, breathing like she’d run a marathon. And unable to restrain a hopeful smile. “Does that mean you forgive me?”
“For leaving me in my own bed, alone? Hmm, I may need more…persuading.” A smiled toyed at the corners of his lips.
“Does tonight work for you?” She cupped his cheek in her hand, looked right into those killer hazel eyes, and threw caution to the wind.
“I may require more nights. Many of them.”
Hope burst in her heart, so explosive she could hardly breathe. “Ali, I am so sorry. What I did was insensitive. I know it. I knew it then. I was just…scared. But I’m not anymore. And I want you to know that I care about you. A lot.”
He quirked a dark brow. “Care. In what way?”
Shanna knew she had his attention. Not only did she feel it against her hip, she felt it in his gaze, in the way his arms tightened around her.
“How much, querida?” he prompted again.
She swallowed down the tangle of anxiety and need and anticipation threatening to kill her courage. “I love you.”
Those three words had barely cleared her lips before Ali stepped around her and, with an impatient arm, wiped every piece of paper off the flat, faux-wood desk and onto the floor. A moment later, her back was against the cool laminated surface and every inch of his body covered her completely, from the bunching shoulders beneath his elegant coat to the hard abs that rippled with every breath.
“Say it again.” His voice was thick with demand.
“I love you.”
“And you mean this?”
“Except my dad, I’ve never said those three words to a man. Ever.”
Finally, expression warmed Alejandro’s strong, square face. Happiness, hunger, adoration…love.
“Te amo, querida.” He dipped his head for a long, sweet kiss. “I love you, too.”
Then he kissed her again, long endless moments where Shanna felt blissfully lost in passion. Alejandro’s endless caress shimmered want in every crevice, corner, and nerve ending. She wanted the moment to last forever.
With a moan, he lifted his head, his hazel eyes snapping with a hunger like she’d never seen. “What I wish to do to you…with you, to show you how I feel… How do I get you out of this infernal costume so I can make love to you?”
“I want to,” she breathed the words against his mouth. “I want that so much…but I was sewn into this costume. If you take it off, we won’t get it back on, and I have nothing else to wear.”
He cursed in Spanish, something that sounded melodious but was, no doubt, foul.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
He smiled, something sharp and greedy with his signature charm.
“We’re leaving now. You will come to my bungalow and stay all night?”
“Yes.” And the next, and the one after, and the one after that, if he’d have her.
“You will not leave?”
“In the morning? No.”
“Ever?”
Was he saying… “Are you asking me to…move in with you?”
He clenched his jaw. “No.”
Her stomach plummeted. “Of course not. I misunderstood.”
“My Mamá, she would be very disappointed if we lived together. Just before you sent her to dance with Kristoff, a brilliant move, by the way, she asked if you were my girlfriend.”
“You said yes.” A smile crept across her mouth.
“I did, then I whispered in her ear. Do you recall?”
“Yes, what did you tell her? And what is a nuera?”
“I told her I had other plans.” Alejandro grabbed her hand, kissed it, then whispered, “Nuera means daughter-in-law.” He took a little black box from his pocket. “Interested in the role?”
Shock burst inside her, breath-catching and sweet. “You’re proposing?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be down on one knee?” she teased.
“I would rather be on top of you, always.” He winked. “Will you marry me?”
“YES!!!!” She clutched Ali tight as he opened the box. She fell in love all over again. “Yes!”
“Good. I wasn’t taking no for an answer.”
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed as he stood up and slipped the square solitaire on her ring finger. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, slid down her cheeks. Probably ruining her mascara—and she didn’t care. “When did you buy this?”
His cheeks flushed a dull red. “About four hours ago. But I have known that I love you for far longer than that.”
“Me, too. I was just too afraid that love meant giving up my dream. I’m sorry. Never again.”